Godzilla: Fallout
by moisesehernandez
Summary: A dark tale about a man who confronts his demons while he survives the aftermath of the San Francisco attack. OC surviving the aftermath of the Gareth Edwards film, it's a slow burn but it's worth a read! Please read and review!
1. Lost souls

**fall·out**

ˈfôlˌout/

_1. Radioactive particles that are carried into the atmosphere after a nuclear explosion or accident and gradually fall back as dust or in precipitation. _

_2. The adverse side effects or results of a situation._

* * *

The ash began to fall before dawn. Anthony felt the flakes land gently on his face and they were weightless to him. He felt the soft tickle of the ash caressing his eyelids and the sun's warmth breaking through the morning clouds. Anthony was stirring and waking into a body of pain. He opened an eye and saw the sun before it disappeared behind the overcast.

The joints in his body were stiff and his muscles ached. He pushed himself off of a concrete ground and leaned against an antenna. Anthony's consciousness was coming back as he witnessed San Francisco as it was the morning after the battle. The air felt dead. He was standing on the rooftop of his IT headquarters and had a full three hundred and sixty degree view of a city in ruin. Pillars of fire and smoke met with the sky. Several quadrants near the water were leveled while most of downtown was barely standing. Beyond the San Franciscan Bay was the titan mushroom cloud the atomic blast had left behind. Down below there were thousands of people crawling over the concrete debris to one another and away from each other. They were lost souls.

Anthony's suit and tie were covered in dust which turned a deep red from a wound below his right armpit. The pain suddenly returned in seconds. He flinched and cradled his right side with a shaky hand. Blood had begun to seep through his fingers and he knew time was against him. He took a step away from the massive antenna and limped towards the rooftop access. Behind it half of the IT building had collapsed into the streets below. Anthony squeezed through the stuck door and disappeared into the darkness of the rooftop access.

The stairs was pitch black and navigating the steps was all but impossible. Anthony leaned against the twisted rail guard and worked downwards one step at a time until he arrived at his floor. Surprisingly the cubicles were intact leaving only the chairs and office accessories disturbed. His coworkers called out to him but he paid them no attention. His cubicle, being closest to the cracked windows, gave him plenty of light as he looked through the overturned expandos and file cabinets. He saw his office plant _Bollante_ overturned and took a second to set it right again. The plant was perfectly healthy without damage to a single leaf. Anthony finally found a picture frame under his desk and immediately slipped the photograph of a couple into his back pocket. He looked through the first aid kit in a drawer but found nothing useful other than duct tape and a hammer.

Suddenly he heard the distant hum of a helicopter descending onto the streets. There were two helicopters that landed in the middle of a crowd of frantic civilians. Every person nearby ran towards them with outstretched arms. One of his coworkers pointed at the helicopters and led a group of others down the stairs.

Anthony couldn't catch up. Instead he forced himself into the nearest bathroom. The lights inside were also flickering and there was flooding in one of the stalls but the water was still working. Anthony pulled his tie off and buttoned his shirt. The blood had matted his undershirt to his skin and was only growing darker. He pulled the silver duct tape with his teeth and taped the wound several layers over. After washing his face and hair Anthony looked at himself in the mirror for a very long time. He didn't know the person who was staring back at him. That person had cold dead eyes. That person was born long before the monsters attacked the city and he was right in his element, right where he belonged.

Anthony sat on the bathroom floor and contemplated the new reality. He remembered running upstairs to see the creatures for himself and witnessed the bright light of an atomic blast over the bay. While the others evacuated the building he laid down to wait for an absolution. He wanted to face his final judgment but he certainly didn't remember getting the wound upstairs.

Anthony disarmed the alarm that had suddenly begun to go off in his wristwatch. He then noticed it wasn't an alarm but a timer and it was now counting down from three hours. He had no idea what the timer was for.

_Don't give up on me. Find me, save us._

Anthony tried his hardest to recall more information but it was too painful. His head was throbbing and he was losing most of his feeling in his right side. So he decided to lie down and rest for only a second.

_I forgive you but you need to come with me! Please!_

Anthony remembered a sweet voice pleading with him and pulling on his arm with great desperation.

_Find me before it's too late. Please!_

"Elizabeth…" Anthony whispered.

"Please!"

Anthony opened his eyes and listened. The plea was coming from outside of the bathroom. He wanted to disable his entire body and remain completely still but the plea was becoming louder.

"I can't get out! I'm stuck!"

Anthony lifted himself up off of the ground and followed the voice deep into the hallway where the IT building had collapsed on itself. The door leading into the emergency stairs was untouched but when he opened there was no stairs. He was standing directly in front of a wall of debris. Concrete, cables and metal was compacted into a solid piece and at the bottom was a small arm desperately trying to reach for something.

"I'm here! I'm here… what's your name?" Anthony got on all fours and held on to the cold hand.

"Yvette, I'm stuck and I can't feel anything. I can't move anything."

Anthony tried to pry the debris apart but the wound in his side made the effort impossible. There was no way to look at Yvette's face.

"It's so dark, I can't see anything," she cried lightly.

Anthony felt a ring on Yvette's ring finger.

"You're married."

"Yes."

Anthony knew there was really nothing he could do so he thought of the only thing possible.

"When was the last time you saw your husband?"

"Yesterday morning before work. I remember kissing him goodbye."

"Where is he?"

"I don't know. He's a banker."

"Yvette," Anthony started, "I can't save you."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't move the debris. I'm wounded and I can't be of much help to anyone right now but I can find him for you. I can bring him here."

The timer had two hours and forty minutes left.

There was silence and all that was left was his heavy breathing.

"Tell him I love him."

"What else do you want me to tell him?"

Yvette began sniffling. "That I miss him and that marrying him was the best decision of my life. That it wasn't his fault for waiting so long."

Anthony held onto her hands with both of his and bit his lip. He nodded respectfully. "I think he knows that already."

He let go of her hand and backed away. Yvette's hand rested on the floor peacefully unmoving and without distress.

"What's your name?" Yvette called out in a strained voice. She wasn't crying anymore.

"Anthony."

"Anthony with the plant?"

"Yeah." Anthony kept backing away.

"I work behind you Anthony."

"I know."

"Goodbye Anthony with the plant."

"Goodbye Yvette."

Her hand grew smaller and smaller until it was a small white blip far off into the distance.


	2. Descent

When Anthony first witnessed the massive creatures he didn't react at all like the others had. In fact while his coworkers ran away screaming he walked towards it in awe. It was right after dusk and the night had turned into a dirty red. There were still people on his floor who hadn't evacuated yet and he was watching the whole thing unravel before his eyes. There were two titanic monsters, very spider-like, that were causing the destruction in the downtown area. Fire erupted and the building caved in around them. Then the third one arrived but it was much different. Anthony was standing next to a woman when he heard the footsteps. He neared the windows and watched silently. The third titan was extremely close to the IT building. Every step broke a window or shifted the cubicles around. It was a biped with tall spiky fins lining the back of his head down to the end of a tail. It was also very lizard like with four fingers on each hand and a rough scaly hide. It turned San Francisco over with each thunderous step and waved its enormous tail from side to side as it walked onwards.

Anthony didn't think of the beasts as a sign of the apocalypse but as retribution. The woman suggested that they move as far away from the windows as possible but Anthony wanted to see what was coming to him, what was going to finally end him. The titan's massive feet marched forward without touching the IT building and swung its tail around in the air. The tail came down as it finally passed by and destroyed half of the building. It sounded like an earthquake at first filled with screaming and falling debris but the screaming was cut short and the avalanche of debris continued. Lives Anthony knew and worked around with on a daily basis were snuffed in seconds. The titan continued to push through the streets towards downtown without a second thought of the destruction it was leaving behind…

After leaving the woman behind under the wall of fallen debris Anthony walked towards the opposite side of the building where the stairs were undamaged and limped down another few floors before stopping altogether. The blood was pooling through the gaps of the tape. Anthony didn't know how much time he had left but he wouldn't survive to see the final countdown of the timer if help couldn't be found.

Anthony only needed about ten more flights of stairs before he reached the sky-bridge. There he would take the bridge and enter their sister building where he would hope to find someone he knew. Anthony descended but at an even slower pace. He took one step at a time holding most of his weight against the guard rail. Anthony looked over the guard rail to the bottom floor with heavy and tired eyes. He was pail and his breathing was forced. Reaching the bottom would only take seconds and all it required was his last bit of strength. He would push himself over the rail guard and let gravity take over.

"Anthony, what are you doing?"

Anthony heard a familiar voice and moved away from the guard rail.

"I'm so tired Eric," Anthony replied wearily, "I can't take another step." Anthony lost his footing and collapsed on his side. He finally closed his eyes and remained still.

Eric was a coworker of Anthony's who tried calling out to him earlier that morning. While Anthony was going through his cubicle Eric formed a group and led them to the helicopters outside. Eric removed his shirt and tie and was only wearing a dirty muscle shirt that was still tucked in. He picked up Anthony and with great difficulty carried him down the stairs.

Anthony dreamt about climbing down the back of the lizard titan. He descended down from one spiky fin to another like a flea hopping onto a leaf. There was a woman with him too. She had brunette hair and was wearing scrubs and followed his every move by his side. She smiled at him and held onto his hand. Both the woman and Anthony were standing on the edge of the tallest fin and with one great push they both leapt off of the fin and glided towards the edge of the tail…

Anthony awoke to an incredible pain. He groaned and held onto his wound. Eric was lying on the ground next to him panting.

"I'm sorry Anthony, I missed a step," Eric got on all fours and stood up. He helped Anthony get back on his feet and guided him down another few flight of stairs.

"We're almost to there."

"Where are we going?" Anthony's voice was hoarse.

"To the lobby or what's left of it."

"No, I need to get off on the third floor." Anthony saw that they were on the fourth.

"The helicopters are flying the wounded out of here. You need to be on one of them."

The timer on his watch now had two hours and ten minutes left. "I need to get into North Tower. I don't have much time."

"You're crazy man, the sky-bridge is ruined. You couldn't get passed it even if you tried."

"I'm crossing it." Anthony let go of Eric and arrived at the third level access door.

Eric was frustrated. He looked at the bottom floor and followed Anthony past the door and into a hallway that became the the sky-bridge entrance.

"Thank you for your help Eric. I know we didn't speak much at work but I am thankful for you."

"It's times like this when we need each other the most y'know. Most people who used to hate each other are grouping up and finding help. I mean there's not much we can do but collect each other and stay alive. We can try to figure what this means."

"You don't have to figure it out. It's staring us right in the face."

"What do you mean?"

"It's retribution."

"What?"

"Nothing. The world will never be the same after this. Three monsters showing up out of God knows where to destroy us. There will be nothing left after this day."

"There will still be us."

Anthony and Eric arrived at the entrance of the sky-bridge, a three hundred foot long bridge linking the IT headquarters and its sister building North Tower. North Tower looked nearly untouched but the sky-bridge however was ruined. When the building's south corner collapsed on itself the shock damaged the bridge enough to make it almost impossible to cross. All that remained was a thin sliver of concrete snaking from one end to another. The walls and ceiling had collapsed and the pillars holding the sky-bridge up were cracking. Bodies laid motionless on top of the mountain of fallen debris.

"Anthony this isn't a good idea."

"I have to." Anthony began walking on top of the very thin and weak flooring.

"You won't be able to get back, North Tower's lobby had caved in. How are you going to escape?"

"I don't know Eric." Anthony felt the foundation move and stopped.

Eric began walking after him.

Anthony let go of his would and used his hands to balance himself. He saw cracks form around the concrete and took another step forward.

"I don't think this all happened as punishment Anthony, I think it's a wakeup call."

"A wake up for what? That there are monsters in the world?"

"I don't know… to stick together, to be human together."

Anthony was already half way across the bridge and the concrete floor was getting safer to walk on.

"Just a bit more Eric, it's a lot stronger on this side."

Eric balanced himself and walked along the thin flooring. He gave him a nervous smirk and held out his hand to Anthony. Anthony grabbed it and guided him across the weakest point of the bridge.

"Safe and sound," Anthony groaned as he pulled Eric across.

Eric's foot suddenly slipped on the edge and with a powerful jerk Eric pulled Anthony downwards just as the floor gave out. Anthony was lying on the edge holding onto Eric's hands with both of his. Eric's body hung in the air over a sea of broken concrete and glass. He saw how far the drop was and gave Anthony a frightened look.

"I'm going to pull you up Eric, I'm going to," Anthony used all of his strength to pull Eric upwards but more blood was leaving through the wound. His shoulders weakened and Eric remained suspended.

"It's ok Anthony. You're a good man."

"I won't let go."

"I hope you find what you're looking for in there. I pray that it gives you peace."

Eric tried to loosen his hands from Anthony's grip but Anthony held on tighter.

"Let me go Anthony. I'm ready."

"I'll stay here as long as I can."

Eric knew there was no point in arguing. He never looked down at the ground again and kept his eyes fixed on Anthony.

"Hey so I thought of a theory about all of this. Do you want to know?"

"Sure," Anthony tightened his grip.

"Alright, I heard a story about there being a monster like this near Japan right after the Second World War. People tried covering it up but something that big couldn't be kept a secret for too long y'know. Anyway some Japanese folk treat it like it's divine like it's a force of good for the world. It could be a protector of its home, our home. I think its arrival is good for us."

"You really think so?"

"I believe it."

Anthony felt his arm and shoulders ache but he refused to acknowledge the pain. For a moment he forgot about the timer. He was determined to stay with Anthony for as long as time allowed.

"Tell me more."

Eric smiled, "Ok."


	3. Ignite

It didn't take long after the electricity returned when someone on Anthony's floor pointed at the rescue helicopters. The mushroom cloud in the bay was slowly rising into the stratosphere. The helicopters hovered over the rooftops that had no damage and even then cautiously remained in the air before the medics dropped down. Eventually a helicopter flew over the IT building and moments later a team of medics went from one floor to another looking for the injured.

After witnessing the lizard titan destroy the very last of the spider-like creatures Anthony was running on fumes. He was tired and shell shocked. He was previously on the roof to watch the titans fight and somehow arrived on his cubicle floor. Someone brought him back downstairs. When he tried thinking of whom, a voice suddenly ignited the very last of his energy and his heart came back to life.

"Anthony? Anthony where are you?"

Anthony saw a woman amid the chaos on the floor and his eyes immediately began to tear.

A brunette in scrubs who came in with the team of medics saw Anthony near the windows and ran towards him. Their bodies collided passionately. They kissed each other and held on to each other as if it would be the very last time they would get to.

"Elizabeth, how did you know I was here?"

"I didn't, I had to find out," Elizabeth let go of Anthony and looked into his eyes, "Anthony something dangerous is about to happen. We need to get as far away from the city as we can."

"What are you saying?"

"I'll explain on the way to the hospital but right now we need to get off the building. We're taking the most injured first but you can ride with me."

Elizabeth grabbed onto his hand and pulled him back into the rooftop access where they would run up several more floors before reaching the roof. Anthony was surrounded by a team of medics who were each helping an injured person up the stairs. Another medic was holding the rooftop door open for everyone else. Anthony noticed one of his co-workers Gerald sneaking behind them and by one look he knew Gerald wasn't injured but frightened.

When they reached the roof a helicopter was already waiting for them. Anthony stopped. Elizabeth got into the helicopter and noticed Anthony wasn't coming with her.

"Anthony get in."

"Elizabeth I…"

Elizabeth saw the look in Anthony's eyes and it broke her heart. She clenched her teeth and waved for Anthony to follow her. He took one step forward when someone began to scream wildly…

Anthony woke up with a cough. He fell asleep standing with his shoulder against the wall. His left hand firmly clasped over his now numbed wound. The timer on his watch told him he had an hour and forty minutes left and without a single clue as to what.

The hallway he was bathed in blue. The floodlights had kicked in and every so often there was a red exit sign that collided with the blue. Every step Anthony took forward was both painful and relaxing. He made it into North Tower and the next step was to find Room 4591. The hallways led to offices and lobbies but unlike the IT building there wasn't a cubicle in sight.

"4585… 4587…" Anthony's coughs turned into wheezes, "4989…4591."

Anthony pushed the door to Room 4591 open and stepped inside. There were candles lit and a hand cranked radio buzzing with static next to a PC. A framed photo was tipped over. Anthony picked it up and noticed that it was the exact same photo that he slipped into his own pocket. The photo showed a much happier Anthony with his arms wrapped around the shoulders of a blonde woman. Anthony balanced himself by leaning against the office desk. Suddenly a flashlight lit up the room.

"Anthony?"

Anthony saw the same blonde woman from the photograph enter the office.

"Hey Angie," Anthony smiled as his arm weakened.

Angie rushed to hold up him before he collapsed entirely.

"Babe, god what happened to you?"

"I don't remember."

"I wanted to come and get you but the sky-bridge-"

"I know, I crossed it. It's all good, I'm here now."

"How did you get that wound?"

"I don't know. I remember watching that thing walk by and I remember you left me-"

"I had to, there were still people trapped in the lobby and the bridge collapsed right after."

"I don't blame you hon, I should've followed you. I remember watching the monsters fighting in the bay… and I went upstairs to watch."

"You saw them?"

"I was in awe the entire time. It was breathtaking. Then the blast from the bay…"

"You don't remember what happened after, do you?"

"No I don't. I think the shockwave knocked me out. A lot of it is just hazy. I woke up back on my cubicle floor with the others just as the medics arrived..."

"And? What happened?"

"I don't remember," he lied.

"Did you bring me back downstairs?"

"How could I? I was still trapped here. I heard the blast though, it shook the entire city."

Angie looked at the wound, "maybe shrapnel hit you."

Anthony touched Angie's hair. Her large tired eyes looked at him as if there was nothing else in the world that mattered more. "Angie…"

"Yes?"

"I need help. I'm bleeding out."

Angie helped him back up and took him out of the office.

"There are more people in the visitor's lobby. We're all sheltering there while we wait for help. Maybe someone is a doctor there."

Anthony laughed, "As much as I hate disaster clichés, having a doctor handy would be a nice surprise."

Angie helped him down a couple of flights of stairs before squeezing through a warped door. There was a sign that read _North Tower Visitor's Lounge_. Anthony heard a beep from his watch. He had an hour and a half left.

The Visitor's Lounge was a lit by bluish emergency lights and warm yellow candles. There were less than twenty people huddled together under blankets and several more sleeping on their jackets by the walls. Other than the sound of moving blankets and dry coughs it was eerily quiet in the lounge. No one spoke to one another.

"Paul," Angie motioned for an older janitor and sat Anthony on a chair by the window, "Paul he's really hurt."

The janitor pulled Anthony's shirt off and heard it unstick from his skin. The blood was drying but the wound was still fresh.

"Who is he?"

"He's my boyfriend from next door."

"That monster destroyed half of that building! How is he alive?"

"Well here he is, alive."

"I'm not a doctor Angelica, I can't help this man."

"But what do I do?" Angie hissed under her breath. Several people in the lounge started to look curiously at Anthony's direction.

Anthony looked out of the window. Far off into the distance he saw the silhouette of a motionless mound through the dusty clouds of the San Francisco Port. The sun had poked out again and revealed spiky fins lining the top of the mound. Birds were flying around the mound like flies to a dead animal. His eyes widened when he realized what the mound was.

The janitor brought a woman over to Anthony's chair.

"Angie, this is Linda from HR. She could help."

"Well… I don't' know," Linda from HR looked nervous and unsure.

Angie showed her the deep wound running along Anthony's side, "What can we do?"

"Oh my. I'm not sure if I'm the right person for this… but I can sow."

Angie squeezed Anthony's hand.

"I actually have the tools here…" Linda began looking through her purse.

"Anthony baby, we don't have anything to numb the pain."

"It's ok, close the wound."

The janitor sighed uncomfortably and leaned in closer to Anthony.

"Hey," he whispered, "I have something that could help. It's not much but it'll help with the pain."

The janitor handed him a small joint and smirked.

Anthony gave him a puzzled look.

"Cancer just doesn't seem like much when the world is about to end."

The janitor slipped the joint in between Anthony's lips and struck a match. The match hissed and ignited a tiny yellow flame. Linda from HR had a needle and thread ready. Anthony turned to his side with his wound facing the woman.

"You're going to be fine babe," Angie squeezed his hand.

"Close it, close the wound." Anthony groaned. He finally shut his eyes and breathed in.


	4. Flower

Anthony was stuck between a memory and deep sleep. The flame on the Janitor's match radiated with such light that Anthony had to close his eyes and turn away. When he looked back at the light he was on the IT building's rooftop again. A beautiful glowing light was touching the entire city like daylight. The night was gone for just a moment and then it reappeared. A shockwave from the San Francisco bay was breaking windows on every building close by until it reached him where he was immediately thrown back several feet. This is where he landed on his head. A mushroom cloud bloomed out from the surface of the water like a flower, its petals were massive tides of water unrolling and multiplying until it reached the streets of San Francisco. The mushroom cloud ascended through a hole in the overcast and into the stratosphere where all of its radioactive contents were released. It was finally done.

An office worker emerged from the rooftop door and found Anthony on the floor unconscious. He checked for any wounds other than a cut on the back of his head and found none. The office worker tried to pick Anthony up but the dead weight was too much so he wrapped his arms around his chest and dragged him back into the access door. Suddenly he felt movement in the concrete beneath his feet and saw the cars and flickering streetlights shake in the streets below. Thunderous footsteps were knocking out whatever electricity they had left. The lizard titan emerged from around the corner and saw the two men on the rooftop of the IT building. The monster's golden eyes watched them as they disappeared into the stairs.

The office worker pulled Anthony down as many flights of stairs as possible while trying to protect his head from hitting anything. There was a loud roar of concrete when the IT building suddenly came alive and moved. The lizard titan was breaking down what was left of the building. It was searching for the two men. Its four fingered hands clawed at the rooftop and dug deeper into the IT building. The remaining lives were insignificant to it. It snuffed out dozens of Anthony's coworkers with each swipe. Finally the monster reached into the stairwell with an open hand. The office worker stopped pulling Anthony and laid against a wall watching debris fall from the floor above. Then he saw an open hand reach down towards them just as he cried, "I want to live!"

The monster split the building in half and completely leveled it as if it as trying to break open a log of wood. The IT building was finally obliterated taking down North Tower with it. Anthony found himself caked in dust and lying on a mound of death and ruin. He couldn't find the man who saved him anywhere. The place he worked in for ten years was surrounding him and he was the only one left. He looked around him until he stopped at the monster's feet. Then he followed the feet upwards and saw the face of monster looking down on him. It was a black silhouette to a backdrop of a burning city behind him.

"What do you want?" Anthony felt defeated.

A woman in scrubs with brunette hair suddenly appeared between him and the monster. She looked up at the titan and then at Anthony. Anthony tried to run after her but tripped over the fallen debris.

"Elizabeth! Get away!"

"Don't give up on me. Find me, save us," the woman replied.

The streets were glowing blue as the monster's tail began to radiate. The spiky fins were glowing starting from the tip of the tail and rising all the way up its back. It ended at its head just as the monster inhaled deeply. Anthony felt the air become still. He was just a fingertip away from the woman when the world around them became hot and white. Time stopped for them and the two were locked in an eternal picture. That was the moment when Anthony finally remembered what happened and how he would never actually reach Elizabeth…

Anthony pretended to sleep as the others were talking among themselves. Inside the Visitor's Lounge that was a stir that had people talking. Anthony wanted to join in on the conversation but didn't have the energy. He simply leaned by the window watching the sunlight try to break free from the overcast. His side felt stiff and tight. He didn't care to see the work Linda from HR did for him. He looked down at his watch and saw that he had barely an hour left. He suddenly caught his thumb feeling a callous under his ring finger, a finger where a wedding band would've been.

"Do you think they are going to send more helicopters for us?"

"I don't think so."

"What about us then?"

"I keep hearing about buses on the radio. I think they are using a busing system to bring people to a central location."

"Do you know where?"

"They wouldn't say where exactly."

"We should go."

"How? Most of the exits are blocked."

"The lobby is gone too."

"There's an emergency exist down the hall that may still be ok."

"Is it even safe to go outside?"

"What choice do we have?"

Angie saw Anthony in the corner and sat down next to him. Anthony was happy to see his girlfriend again. He smiled lightly and touched her cheek.

"My flower."

Angie smiled back and placed her hand on top of his.

"I was thinking about the day we met," Anthony cupped his hands together. "Remember the bouquet of flowers?"

"I still don't know where you got them but yeah I do."

"I saw you with another guy and I had to give them to you."

"And you did... right in front of my date," Angie laughed. "Why?"

"Because I needed to, something in the universe told me I should. And here we are."

Angie looked out the window. "Do you think we'll be ok?"

"I think we'll be fine."

Anthony noticed the room getting louder. "What's going on?"

"We think there are buses not too far away that are taking people somewhere for safety. They're just debating on whether or not to go."

"I'll go," Anthony tried to get up in his seat.

"You're not ready," Angie put her hand on his shoulder. "You need more time."

"I don't have time."

Angie looked confused.

"Do you remember setting a timer on my watch?"

Angie shook her head.

"I don't either," he lied.

"I remember what happened, I remember all of it. I remember being mesmerized by the creatures that I had to see them for myself. There was a blast over the bay and I was knocked back which made me lose a bit of that memory. Then Gregory-"

"Gregory? The Gregory who worked across from you?"

"Yeah, he followed me and saved me. He was the one who brought me back downstairs."

"Do you remember how you got your wound?"

"No," Anthony lied again. "Everything else is still a blur to me."

Anthony hated keeping more information from Angie but his gut told him to keep her in the dark. He watched a white bus travel around the broken streets full of people.

"We need to get out of here. I fear we don't have a lot of time."

"You sound as if something's coming for us, another monster perhaps?"

"No, it's not that. I'm not exactly sure what it is but… I'm thinking it has something to do with that blast." Anthony looked out the window towards the remains of the atomic blast. There was a pillar of smoke that was still pluming out from the water into the sky.

Someone suddenly got up in the lounge and announced, "Alright everyone, gather what you need. We're going to exit the building."


End file.
